You have a 3.97 and 1530. Nothing to be scared of.
Focus on finding a school you can afford.
It’s likely a Florida public or OOS/NMF deal but a Hail Mary at some others.
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So far 3/6 reaches are affordable or semi-affordable without scholarships ($18k MIT, $10k Princeton, $15k NYU) with two more (Georgia Tech and UMich) having full-ride scholarships (though those are definitely not reliable.) CMU is completely unaffordable without external scholarships, though. Up at the top I’m mainly worried about being admitted.
I’m definitely trying to strike a balance when it comes to affordability, but I don’t want to compromise by sacrificing reaches. I have four affordable and safe schools so far, all of which I’m reasonably comfortable attending.
Well, it sounds as if the 3.97 is for high school classes only; colleges may recalculate this to include the grades in DE classes. That could potentially hurt when it comes to the Hail Mary applications.
But it shouldn’t hurt with the NMF full ride schools, which are likely the best option anyway.
3.97 is all grades, college just hasn’t rolled over yet.
So MIT, Princeton, and potentially NYU are highly unlikely and if you think you’re going to get a full ride at Ga Tech or Michigan, I’ve got swamp land to sell you.
But it’s fine.
But what are your safeties ?- the ones you know you’ll get into, can afford, and won’t mope that you’re attending?
Update: SAT scores are out, new score is 1590!!! (800 RW, 790 Math). I’m not sure if it makes much of a difference, but it’s something. 
Edit: no idea how to edit thread titles, but if someone could do that it would be great
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Congrats!
And I’ve edited the title for you.
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Congratulations! It probably does make a difference for CS at certain reach schools, especially raising your math grade. Your previous scores were already very good, but for those schools that expect near-perfection, you now have it.
The new scores don’t guarantee anything anywhere, but they will keep you in consideration. It also may help to alleviate potential concerns about your math track.
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I’m so glad. Opening the CollegeBoard website today morning was a type of fear I’d never experienced before
As long as the OP has safeties/likelies, I think it’s reasonable to apply for competitive scholarships like the Stamps at UMich and GTech. The most important thing is understanding the characteristics each scholarship values and highlight those in the essays… leadership, service, etc. The OP has the stats to be competitive.
OP, I hope you’re applying to some of the NMF schools, like UT-D.
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I definitely am. I added fordham as a safety already, and im gonna look into other NMF or auto-merit schools today.
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I agree overall — the poster is a highly competitive applicant for both schools and scholarships — but Michigan has discontinued their Stamps program.
Edited: I looked at the website. It appears that they have revitalized it but in a very different incarnation. It’s no longer a full ride and now is a $10,000 summer research scholarship.
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Oh wow. I did not know that. That is surprising since it was the original Stamps campus and one of the foundation founders is an alum.
Thanks for providing that info for the OP.
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Know this is a reach but did you look at the named scholarships at Duke? this one is specifically for first gen students. Did you figure out you EFC there? I believe they are very generous.
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I had duke originally but i removed it for some reason. Ill look at it again! Thank you.
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Is stamps still active at the other schools? Or has it been completely reworked?
https://www.stampsscholars.org/our-program/partner-schools/
As you can tell from the last couple posts, the Stamps’ benefits are school specific. So if you are interested in any of the schools in the link above, click the icon to read about that specific program.
Edit: I only have personal experience with my D21 and the Stamps at GTech, but I can share her anecdotal experience by PM if you like.
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Thanks! Ill look into the programs.
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Yea that’s my point.
If you read the message I responded to, of the six listed all would be difficult at best ahd maybe not affordable.
So I was pushing to say - that’s great - but what is the meat of your list. The assured.
The odds of a full ride at Ga tech and Michigan are like playing mega millions.
Thanks for clarifying. When I read “I’ve got swamp land to sell you” I interpreted that as you thinking it was impossible and a waste of time.
I think it absolutely is worth this OP applying for long shot competitive scholarships … as long as they have an overall appropriately balanced list. I wanted to make that clear.
Anecdotally my D21 was turned down for a good many competitive scholarships, but it only takes one and luckily she got one. She also had a solid list of safeties and matches, which is essential for this OP. And she was not NMSF so the OP has a huge advantage over most kids… this opens up so many more possibilities even with the budget they are working with.
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